CH 14.1

Chapter 14 Part 1

The season changes.

It’s been a few days since I transferred to the high school dorm early.

The students will gather in the public hall in the morning today.

Welmina is waiting outside the boy’s dorm.

I said that I can go to the girl’s dorm to get her but Welmina rejected me as I feared.

Soon after, she who has transformed from a girl into a lady came up the stairs and waved her hand as she gets closer.

[Sheryl-ku~n! What do you think of this?]

She called it a high school debut, she changed her glasses and her looks.

Today is also my first time seeing the new her.

The hair she grew for a year that used to be bundled up is now in a ponytail.

She changed from her usual circular glasses to a slim one, and her previously plain clothes were changed into ones that’s a combination of dynamic and casual.

I looked up at her and breathed deeply.

── It’s Will.

She’s the main character’s friend in the game.

Will is an informant, and she also helps the main character gather information about the capture targets.

So Will was Welmina’s nickname.

Even if I didn’t recall the memories of my past life lately, how could I have not noticed it?

But just because I noticed doesn’t really mean there’s anything to it.

[Uh… Could it be that I failed?]

[Uun*, you’ve become cool and adult-like so I was just surprised. Your impression has completely changed.] (TN: Like a groan.)

[Really? It’s not bad?]

[Yeah, you’ve become pretty.)

[There you go again~! Sheryl-kun is really skillful! Well then, let’s go to the public hall!]

I bid Nicole ‘I’m leaving’, then have Welmina push the wheelchair.

We have successfully enrolled into the S-class in high school, and we will be together again for a year.

[Sheryl-kun, you don’t plan to change your hairstyle?]

[Hm~, it’s because I feel comfortable with its current length.]

[Jule-sama looks like he wants you to grow it longer, though.]

[I firmly refuse.]

When I was about to cut my hair back at the dorm, someone suddenly came out of nowhere to persuade me not to cut it.

Of course, I’ve never even considered accepting that request.

[By the way, a new student will be entering our high school!]

[What kind of girl is she?]

[She’s called Lydi Boirmortie and she’s a girl who used to be a commoner.]

Hearing the word “Boirmortie”, my heart skipped a beat.

It’s a familiar house name.

The Earl of Boirmortie is the name of the noble who took in the main character of the game.

[It seems that she caught the Earl’s eyes when her Mana went out of control, and she became the top scorer later after entering the training center after that. It’s even said that her mana capacity is comparable to His Highness.]

[That’s amazing…]

The training center is a miniaturized academic research center, it exists in each region of the kingdom.

The main objective is to train their control so as not to avoid Mana from running out of control.

As in this case, many people with a high Mana capacity come to the academic research laboratory through training sites.

[So that’s why she’s entering the high school division?]

[There’s also that, but she apparently did excellent in the training center.

In the game, the training center’s treated as a minigame, but I wonder how it is in real life?

Just like the game’s main character, did Lidy also feel the same in the gaming center?

The name seems to be the default.

[Why was she adopted in the Boirmortie House?]

[She was originally part of the Boirmortie Fief, it seems. I guess getting the attention of the Lord is her good luck.]

A person who holds a huge Mana capacity rarely appears among the common people. It’s known that those people get invited by noble families for adoption.

That’s why the amount of Mana one holds is this country’s status. (TN: so nobles must have high M cap.)

That’s why dark rumors are also spreading. Even if one get’s adopted by a noble’s house, one is treated as a disposable pawn or will be used to bear a child.

Perhaps Welmina also knows about it, her voice doesn’t sound bright while talking.

[But as long as she has her past accomplishments, they shouldn’t be able to make fun of her. Especially the Boirmortie Mana capacity, it seems to be on the brink compared to other nobles.]

[Eh?]

Even if they’re unable to visibly look at the amount of Mana, if it’s an experienced magician, it should be possible to determine just how much gap there is between the common people and the nobles.

It’s because it can be seen from an outsider’s perspective that nobles are sensitive to the Mana capacity in their household, so I wonder what she meant about the amount of Mana the Earl’s house can contain is on the brink?

[Although it’s a lot compared to the common people, compared to his position as an Earl… Even now, they seem to have adopted a child and raised him up. It seems to have been decreasing from the last three generations. The current family head also felt a sense of crises, and that’s when Lidy appeared. For the Boirmortie family, Lidy’s existence is akin to their savior and for Lidy, it’s a place she has to do her best without selling herself cheaply.]

[Yeah…]

I’m surprised about the Boirmortie background because it’s not within my memory.

With their circumstances as it is, they probably want to treat Lidy as a bride instead of an adopted daughter.

It’s not uncommon for the aristocratic society to raise adopted children with the aim of enclosing them with marriage before giving them the house’s name if the partner is still underaged.

I wonder how Lidy will get herself involved with my brother, Rafael, and the others?

As a lover like in the game? If so, with who?

The capture targets are Big Brother, Noe, Serge, Camille… and Rafael, these five people.

I guess I can only watch how it progresses from here.

When I remember Rafael’s face, my hearts hurts a bit.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

When we enter the new classroom, the target of the negative rumors is Lidy.

There are some who have a wait-and-see attitude, while some are already looking down on her.

But the more she’s turned into the center of the gossip, the calmer she looks.

The same as back in middle school, my seat is near the entrance.

Welmina sits next to it.

Lidy also seems to be sitting in the front row. Her seat is right in front of the teacher’s desk.

Rafael who usually comes early in the classroom isn’t here.

I also don’t see Serge and Camille who’s always with him.

Is it the first event(of the game)? It can’t be…

The event at the entrance ceremony will take place in the common route. It’s because there’s no clear target for the love interest yet.

I dug deep through my memories.

At the beginning of the game, the capture targets are Rafael and the other two, the setting is during the move from the public hall to the classroom. The main lead helps a cat who was unable to get down from a tree, but the cat she saved will run away from her arms and jump on Rafael’s face.

Fortunately, neither the human nor animal has been hurt and the event finishes…. Yeah, I kinda want to see Rafael with a kitten in his face.

After Rafael and company know that they’re in the same class as the main character, they will end up going to the classroom together.

If it’s according to the game, that is.

[Sheryl-kun, what’s wrong? You’re making difficult expressions.]

[Nothing, just having a little thought.]

I’m alive, and my brother should also be different from the game.

That’s why I know that not everything is in line with the game but…

I thought that I don’t want the same events to happen.

[Ah, it seems like His Highness has come!]

I raise my head upon Welmina’s words.

It also coincides with the moment Rafael entering the room with a sullen-like expression.

When our eyes met, his face slightly lightens.

[Sheryl, good morning.]

[Good morning. It’s unusual for Rafael-sama to come late.]

[It was funny just a while ago, a cat was on top of Rafael.]

[Serge.]

Serge probably liked it a lot as he kept trying to reproduce the scene, while Rafael glared at him. It seems this argument has been going on since until they got to the classroom.

Behind them, Camille is holding a strained laugh.

As for me, while feeling my heart sink after knowing that the event did indeed happen, I look for Lydi’s figure. If the event happened, she should have come together with them.

As I thought, there’s a girl who moved her eyes a bit.

Her pink hair that’s grown up to her chest, she’s currently looking at Rafael and the others with confused eyes.

Even if her looks can be called unassuming, she’s a cute lady with a well-featured face.

Her appearance doesn’t seem to be different from the game.

Because I know that Rafael is present, I didn’t try to use Mana detection, but I can see Lidy shining like Rafael as well.

There seems to be no mistake about her having Mana capacity comparable to Rafael.

[Later then, Sheryl.]

[Eh? Ah, yeah…]

I really don’t remember making any promises, Rafael caressed my head once as I gave him a half-hearted reply before he headed back to his seat.

It looks like Rafael’s seat at the back of the classroom still hasn’t changed. And then Camille and Serge follows.

[My name is Welmina Bedford. Nice ta meet ya.]

[Yeah, best regards!]

Before I knew it, Welmina is already exchanging greetings with Lydi.

I knew that Lydi’s line of sight has switched to me so I also lightly bow my head.

[I’m Sheryl Bashral. Nice to meet you.]

[Nice to meet you, I’m Lydi Boirmortie. I have just been adopted into a noble’s house so I still don’t know about the traditions.]

[Don’t worry about me since I’m not a noble. I will also tell you if you have anything you don’t know!]

[I also haven’t been out to society for long so I also don’t mind.]

From the feeling I got while talking to her, I couldn’t find anything strange in particular.

Her voice also sounds soft just like a girl’s.

[I’m glad, I was really nervous! The cat I helped earlier climbed on Rafael-sama’s face… If Serge-sama and Camille-sama didn’t follow up, who knows what could’ve happened.]

So they’re already on the first-name basis?

No, since it’s about those two, they probably said it themselves. I don’t know about Rafael, though.

I wasn’t able to remember the minute details from the memory of my previous life, I wasn’t able to remember the details of the conversations, either.

{What’s with that girl? Even if she’s part of an Earl’s family, she’s still only adopted.]

{Don’t commoners get along well with fellow commoners?}

{Just someone who’s a former commoner, I wish she’d stop showing off just because her abilities got recognized.}

The noble students’ awareness from the S-class is the same as always.

While  listening to those disconcerting words, Lydi has a face as if she doesn’t care.

The girl who’s naturally looking ahead…. is smiling.

She’s talking to us like usual as if nothing’s wrong.

She might probably just be pretending she couldn’t hear the contemptuous words.

But for some reason, I remembered something chilling from her smile.

[Welmina-san….Can I call you Will?]

[I don’t really mind.]

[Can I talk to you again?]

[It’s fine, it’s fine. Just call out to me if you want to talk.]

[Thank you! Oh, you can call me Lydi. Sheryl-kun, too! Then, see you later!]

Leaving behind the same words as Rafael, Lydi went back to her seat.

The flow of the conversation followed according to the game so I can’t calm down.

I unconsciously looked at the pen with Rafael’s initials, telling myself that it will be alright.

After that, Lydi  approached Welmina every break, and her opportunity to talk to me naturally increased.

Apparently, Rafael’s “later” meant lunch break.

[Ohh, the Fighting tournament! I wonder if I can also participate?]

[As long as their grades are good, girls can also participate. Right, right, Sheryl is trying to conceal it, but he’s the last year’s champion, Jule-sama’s, younger brother!]

A wry smile leaked from me as Welmina flutters her hands in front of me.

[You’re exaggerating.]

[This should be the part where you confirm it!]